Department for Transport

Spain: Driving Licences

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to arrange UK driving licenses as being acceptable within the Spanish transport system.

Trudy Harrison: UK driving licences are recognised by Spain for temporary visits. The Department for Transport has been working to secure arrangements so that where a UK licence holder is resident in Spain, they may exchange their licence for a Spanish one without having to take a driving test but unfortunately an agreement has not yet been reached.The Secretary of State for Transport held a call with Spain’s Minister for the Interior on Friday 29 April to agree a way forward to include rapidly accelerating talks on driving licence exchange which are on-going.

Motorcycles: Driving Instruction

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there has been a statistically significant improvement in motorcycle casualty rates and numbers on UK public highways since the introduction of the swerve test conducted at 50 km/h in April 2009.

Trudy Harrison: Statistics on motorcycle casualties and casualty rates published by the Department show that the number and rate of motorcycle casualties in Great Britain have decreased compared to 2009.

Electric Vehicles: Infrastructure

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to local authorities on delivering the UK electric vehicle infrastructure strategy.

Trudy Harrison: Our UK electric vehicle charging infrastructure strategy sets out our vision and commitments to make EV charging cheaper and more convenient than refuelling at a petrol station. It also defines the role and responsibilities of local authorities in the delivery of charging infrastructure, and provides a vision for national rollout. Of the £2.5 billion of Government funding committed to the EV transition since 2020, over £1.6 billion will be used to support charging infrastructure.To ensure that the transition to electric vehicles takes place in every part of the country, we are pledging at least £500m to support local chargepoint provision. As part of this, the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund will provide approximately £400m of capital and £50m of resource funding to support English local authorities to work with industry and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking. We have launched a £10m pilot as a springboard for the development of the full fund.We have launched a local government knowledge hub on gov.uk to make information and guidance on local EV chargepoint planning and delivery easy to access. The LA Hub carries an extensive list of guidance from government and external bodies related to EV infrastructure rollout. The website also acts as a central portal to highlight new and upcoming policies and support from central government. We will also continue to fund Energy Saving Trust to run the Local Government Support Programme providing free, impartial advice to local authorities in England to help them develop local policies and strategies to support EV uptake.More widely, as committed in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, we have now published a range of decarbonisation ‘toolkits’, to support local authorities with their plans and policies to reduce carbon emissions from transport. This includes guidance on car clubs and fleet electrification.

P&O Ferries: Inspections

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support ferries as a strategic link with (a) the UK's trading partners as part of the Global Britain policy and (b) Northern Ireland to support the Union; whether the Government instructed the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to increase and intensify inspections of P&O Ferries' ships after the termination of 800 employees by that company and at what cost to the public purse; whether the MCA applied appropriate UK standards with respect to inspections of P&O Ferries' ships that were detained, specifically the European Causeway and the Pride of Kent; what effect MCA inspections had on ferry availability to the public and the transport industry; and what effect MCA inspections had on waiting times for those ferries.

Robert Courts: Maritime 2050 sets out the government and industry's joint vision for the future of the UK’s maritime sector. In delivering this vision, we will support the sector to fulfil its role in helping the UK to build back better and to level up across regions. The ferry industry has a key part to play in this.The safety of the travelling public is our top priority. Owing to the unprecedented actions of P&O Ferries and considering the significant number of UK travelling public who use these services, the Secretary of State instructed the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to carry out Port State Control inspections on the affected ferries, particularly owing to the large numbers of new crew that would be on board.Three of the ships inspected, out of the seven looked at so far, were detained. The costs involved in respect of the detained vessels is recovered from the operator (at £147/hour). Port State Control inspections which do not result in the vessel being detained are not cost recoverable. All the affected vessels have been subject to Port State Control inspections as per the requirements of Paris Memorandum of Understanding to which the UK is signatory. This provides the processes and procedures that should be followed to ensure compliance with all international requirements concerning safety and seafarers working and living conditions.The MCA’s role, as the Port State in this case, is to ensure that the vessels are meeting the necessary requirements in relation to safety and seafarers working and living conditions. P&O Ferries notified the MCA when their vessels were ready for inspection. Three of those vessels did not meet the requirements and were stopped from operating owing to safety concerns and this must take precedence over the availability of ferries. Following MCA inspections, P&O Ferries were responsible for deciding when their vessels would commence service.

Great British Railways

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of how Great British Railways can advance rail freight transition from road freight.

Wendy Morton: The Government considers that Great British Railways (GBR) will play a significant role in advancing rail freight transition from road freight through providing a new offer for rail freight. In particular, the Government committed to introducing a rail freight growth target in both the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, May 2021, and the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, July 2021, which GBR will have an important role in delivering. Alongside that, GBR will work closely with industry to support rail freight, including through a Strategic Freight Unit which will be dedicated to improving performance and efficiency across the network for freight customers. GBR will also play an important role in ensuring rail freight is embedded in a new 30-year strategy, with a duty on GBR to promote and grow rail freight to help drive rail freight growth recognising the sector’s significant economic and environmental benefits.Government will continue to explore the potential to increase freight capacity on the rail network to help deliver environmental benefits by reducing carbon emissions across the freight sector, as well as contribution to alleviating congestion on Britain’s roads.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the contracts for (a) Chiltern Railways, (b) Cross Country Trains, (c) Greater Anglia, (d) East Midlands Railway, (e) c2c, (f) Great Western Railway, (g) South Western Railway, (h) GTR, (i) Transpennine Express, (j) Avanti West Coast and (k) West Midlands Trains permit the operators to receive indemnification from his Department in respect of revenue losses incurred as a result of industrial action.

Wendy Morton: The 11 train operating companies referred to are under a mixture of National Rail Contracts and Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements to deliver passenger services. Where the train operating company complies with its contractual obligations, including on industrial action, revenue risks are borne by Her Majesty’s Government.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Small Businesses: Energy

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will provide a package of support to small businesses that are intensive energy users.

Lee Rowley: The Government recognises the importance to secure a competitive future for our energy intensive industries (EIIs), and in recent years have provided them with extensive support, including more than £2 billion to help with the costs of energy and to protect jobs. As part of our Energy Security Strategy, we recently announced that we have extended the EII Compensation Scheme for a further three years and its budget will be more than doubled. That strategy also announced plans to consider increasing support offered by the EII Exemption Scheme. Small businesses will continue to be eligible to apply in each case.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 132386 on civil service staff networks, what recognised staff groups have been running in his Department over the last three years.

George Freeman: The Department does not hold a central list of all staff networks. However, the Department engages with and supports the activity of a group of networks which are recognised in an informal partnership agreement. These networks are: All Ages Network, Carers Network, Capability Action Network, EU Nationals Network, Faith and Minority Ethnic Network, LGBT+ Network, Parental Support Network, Part-Time Workers Network, Schools Outreach Network, Social Mobility Network, Volunteering Network, Wellbeing and Mental Health Network, and Women Empowered Network.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 132386 on civil service staff networks, what information he holds on (a) FTE staff time and (b) budgets available to recognised staff groups within his Department in each of the last three years.

George Freeman: Networks that are recognised in the Department’s network partnership agreement are allocated 0.1FTE of their time to support these networks. All other staff support networks on a voluntary basis.

Foreign Companies

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what powers he has to (a) direct the delisting of firms from UK stock exchanges, (b) ban investment in firms, (c) prohibit trading in shares of a firm, (d) ban or restrict exports of a firm, (e) ban categories of imports, (f) revoke trading licences on national security grounds and (g) prohibit transport, processing or sale of categories of data outside the UK.

Paul Scully: Business activities including listing and trading in shares, investment and acquisitions, imports and exports, and data processing are subject to a range of legal and regulatory requirements. Some of these are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and others are the responsibility of other ministers. Where these requirements are not met, the Government stands ready to use appropriate compliance measures and enforcement powers.

Wind Power: Housing

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assistance the Government is providing to home owners who wish to install domestic wind turbines on their property.

Greg Hands: The Government introduced the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) in January 2020 which is available to eligible small-scale renewable generators, such as home-owners with domestic wind turbines. The SEG is a market-driven mechanism designed to pave the way to projects being deployed without subsidies, so different tariffs are available from participating suppliers.

Offshore Industry: Employment

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of jobs supported directly and indirectly by the UK oil and gas industry are in the supply chain.

Greg Hands: Industry representative body Offshore Energies UK estimates that 178,500 jobs were supported by the UK oil and gas industry in 2021, including 25,700 direct and 91,700 indirect jobs in the supply chain. These estimates are set out in the Workforce Insight Report 2021, which is published at oeuk.org.uk/product/workforce-insight-report-2021.

Renewable Energy

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Department is taking to increase the development of renewable energy.

Greg Hands: The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the Government’s flagship scheme for supporting renewable generation in Great Britain. The latest round is the largest yet, and aims to secure more capacity than all previous rounds combined, supporting technologies including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, tidal and floating offshore wind. In February, the Government announced that the next CfD round will be held in March 2023, and future rounds will run annually.

Natural Gas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the additional volume of natural gas which would be required to offset the electricity generated by nuclear power in 2022.

Greg Hands: Nuclear power generation scenarios are published in the Energy and Emission Projections here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-and-emissions-projections-net-zero-strategy-baseline-partial-interim-update-december-2021.Fuel usage in the power sector is published in DUKES here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes.Conversion factors between fuels are published by National Grid here: https://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/gas-transmission/document/128886/download.

Nuclear Power

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of nuclear power to the UK's energy security.

Greg Hands: The Government believes that the UK needs a diverse mix of electricity infrastructure to come forward in order to deliver a secure, reliable, affordable, and net zero consistent system in 2050. The Energy Security Strategy seeks to ensure that the UK is one of the best places in the world to invest in nuclear and sets an ambition for deployment of civil nuclear of up to 24 GW by 2050, around 25% of our projected electricity demand.

Nuclear Power Stations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to assess the efficiency of the process for approving new nuclear power stations.

Greg Hands: The British Energy Security Strategy sets out the Government’s aim to ensure the UK is one of the best places in the world to invest in nuclear. The Government will work with the regulators to understand the potential for streamlining, or removing duplication from, the consenting and licensing processes to approve new nuclear power stations, without impacting the robust safety, security and environmental protections offered by UK regulatory regime.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the benefits of building new nuclear power stations concurrently.

Greg Hands: The Government assesses each proposed new nuclear project on its own merits, mindful of the value of economies of scale. The Government recently set out the parameters of the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund (£120m) to encourage developers to bring to fruition future proposals. The Government will engage with industry on the development of the pipeline of new projects kickstarted by the British Energy Security Strategy.

Offshore Industry: Licensing

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the outcome of the Designing a climate compatibility checkpoint for future oil and gas licensing in the UK Continental Shelf consultation will be announced; when he expects such a checkpoint to come into force; and whether the checkpoint will require primary or secondary legislation.

Greg Hands: The Government invited contributions on the design of the checkpoint, with a public consultation which closed at the end of February. The Government is considering the responses to the consultation, including consideration of whether to put the checkpoint on a statutory footing, and will respond to the consultation in due course.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he considered putting a price cap on the sums to be paid in the recent offshore wind auction; and for what reason a decision was taken not to do so.

Greg Hands: Seabed leasing rounds are the responsibility of The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland. It is for them to set the parameters and run the rounds. The Government is not involved in the process.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of a new licensing round in the North Sea on the UK's (a) obligations towards international climate targets and (b) net-zero target.

Greg Hands: The North Sea Transition Authority plans to launch another licensing round in the autumn, noting to the forthcoming climate compatibility checkpoint. The climate compatibility checkpoint will be used to assess how any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with the UK’s climate goals.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the Jackdaw fossil fuel development proposed by Shell with the decarbonisation targets for industry in the North Sea Transition Deal.

Greg Hands: Development proposals for oil fields under existing licences are a matter for the regulators - the North Sea Transition Authority and the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED). As part of that regulatory process, OPRED complete an Environmental Impact Assessment and a public consultation on any proposal. OPRED’s decision on the Environmental Impact Assessment for Jackdaw will be made in due course. The emissions reduction targets in the North Sea Transition Deal are monitored by the North Sea Transition Authority. Emissions from any new fields as production comes on stream would be taken into account in continuing to ensure the targets in the Deal are met.

Infrastructure

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to take steps to protect nationally significant infrastructure projects such as large scale solar plants in line with the decision to remove China Nuclear Power Group from its involvement in the construction of the Sizewell Nuclear Plant.

Greg Hands: The UK welcomes foreign investment in our infrastructure. As part of this, all investment involving critical infrastructure is subject to thorough scrutiny and needs to satisfy the government’s robust legal, regulatory, and national security requirements. This includes the new National Security and Investment Act 2021, which gives the Government robust powers to investigate and, if necessary, intervene in investments and other acquisitions to protect national security. CGN has a 20% shareholding in the Sizewell C project up to the point of Final Investment Decision. Negotiations on the project are ongoing and no decisions have been made.

Energy: Industry

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy and effectiveness of the mandatory tests for new entrants to the energy sector.

Greg Hands: Ofgem published an independent review 6 May 2022 which examined Ofgem’s processes in relation to market entry. This report can be found online at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/review-ofgems-regulation-energy-supply-market. In December 2021, Ofgem published additional details on how it proposes to strengthen suppliers’ financial resilience so that they can cope with high and more volatile energy prices.

Diesel Fuel and Petrol: Prices

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that petrol and diesel companies are not overcharging for fuel by charging in greater than normal excess compared to the wholesale cost of oil.

Greg Hands: The Department monitors the fuel supply market and publishes weekly national average pump prices. BEIS analysis shows that both rises and falls in crude oil prices are passed through to consumers over the course of 6-7 weeks and found no evidence to suggest that, for given changes in crude oil prices, retail prices rise faster than they fall.

Energy

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with energy companies on the supplier of last resort scheme.

Greg Hands: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had discussions with energy companies on a range of issues in relation to high wholesale energy prices and supplier market exits. The administration of the Supplier of Last Resort regime is a matter for Ofgem, who ensure that the customers of failed suppliers are transferred to a new supplier on the best available terms and without any interruption to their supply.

Energy: Standing Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the supplier of last resort scheme on the level of standing charges.

Greg Hands: Standing charges are capped under the price cap and ensure millions of households pay a fair price for their energy. One component of the standing charge relates to network costs, which have recently increased in part due to the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) levy. The levy allows suppliers acting as a SoLR to reclaim reasonable additional otherwise unrecoverable costs. Ofgem have confirmed that network costs increased by £68 from April 2022, due to the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) levy costs.

Biofuels: Subsidies

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 3 November 2021 to Question 64728; which meetings his Department has held over the last decade to discuss the burning of wood pellets with (a) Drax lobbyists and (b) scientists.

Greg Hands: UK Government officials meet frequently with businesses and stakeholders involved in renewable electricity generation. As a major renewable electricity generator in the UK, officials meet regularly with Drax Group. A list of ministerial meetings is available online and can be found here, https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Drax Power Station: Timber

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 21 December 2021 to Question 93001, what methodology his Department uses to assess the impact on climate change of burning trees at the Drax power station if it does not collect data on replantation of trees.

Greg Hands: Biomass operators are only subsidised for feedstocks from forests that are managed sustainably and whose carbon stock is constant or increasing. In order to mitigate the risk of underestimating carbon emissions, forest carbon stock changes are set to zero in the Government’s assessment of the climate change impact of unabated biomass combustion, even though forest carbon stock can increase when sustainable forestry practices are utilised.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Climate Change and Energy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many times he has met in a (a) formal and (b) informal capacity to discuss climate and energy issues with (i) representatives and (ii) members of the (A) Global Warming Policy Foundation and (B) Net Zero Scrutiny Group in the last two years.

Greg Hands: Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Nuclear Power

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to provide opportunities for new nuclear developers.

Greg Hands: The Government will set up a new flagship body - ‘Great British Nuclear’ - to develop a resilient pipeline of new projects. The Government appointed Simon Bowen, tasked with leading and helping to drive forward government proposals for a new Great British Nuclear vehicle. The Government intends to take one project to Final Investment Decision (FID) this Parliament and two projects in the next Parliament, subject to value for money, approvals and technology readiness/maturity. The Government launched the £120m Future Nuclear Enabling Fund on 13th May 2022.

Boilers: Natural Gas

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that residential users of communal gas boilers are protected by the energy price cap.

Greg Hands: The Queen’s Speech set out the Government’s commitment to legislating to regulate the heat networks market in this parliamentary session as part of the Energy Security Bill: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-speech-2022-background-briefing-notes.

Sizewell C Power Station

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Sizewell C on the UK's energy security.

Greg Hands: New nuclear projects are important for ensuring a low-carbon, low-cost and resilient electricity system, to help us reach our world-leading emission reduction targets and ensure our energy security and prosperity. The Government has set out its ambition to increase our plans for the deployment of civil nuclear power up to 24GW by 2050. The Government have been in negotiations on the Sizewell C project since January 2021. If approved, Sizewell C would make a substantial contribution to this objective by producing 3.2GW of low carbon electricity, enough to power around 6 million homes or 7 percent of UK electricity.

Carers: Leave

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 5 January 2022 to Question 93062, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce carer's leave.

Paul Scully: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North East Fife on 5th January 2022 to Question 93062: legislation to introduce carer’s leave will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Postage Stamps: ICT

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on Royal Mail’s decision to add barcodes to its postage stamps; and what assessment has been made of the impact of that decision on consumers with unused non-barcoded and Christmas stamps after they cease to be valid in January 2023.

Paul Scully: The Department has regular discussions with Royal Mail on a wide range of issues. However, the development of stamp products is an operational matter for Royal Mail, a private company, and the Government is not involved in Royal Mail’s operational or commercial decisions. Royal Mail launched a ‘Swap Out’ scheme for regular non-barcoded stamps on 31 March and has clarified that special issue and Christmas stamps will continue to be valid and will not need to be swapped out. Further information about its plans for barcoded stamps is available on Royal Mail’s website: www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of loans made under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme to directors that have subsequently been disqualified or made subject to bankruptcy undertakings as a result of bounce-back loan misuse; and what the value of those loans is.

Paul Scully: The Insolvency Service has secured 159 disqualifications of company directors as a result of COVID-19 financial support scheme abuse.The Insolvency Service publishes official statistics online of its enforcement outcomes.Our official statistics do not currently include bankruptcy restriction undertakings with regards to the Bounce Back Loan scheme.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies that received Bounce Back loans were set up after March 2020.

Paul Scully: As of 22 February 2022, Cabinet Office analysis has identified 3,761 loans as having been issued to companies incorporated after 1 March 2020. Businesses had to be established on or before 1 March 2020 to be eligible. However, some businesses may have been carrying out business before 1 March 2020 as sole traders and partnerships, and chose to incorporate subsequently. A legitimate business which changed its legal form in this way was still eligible for the scheme.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Fraud

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of coronavirus bounce back loans from each lender have been identified as fraudulent.

Paul Scully: It is not possible to confirm the proportion of Bounce Back Loans from each lender that have been identified as fraudulent. Lenders are able to flag individual loans as suspected fraud, however this does not necessarily indicate that a fraud has taken place, as this is ultimately determined by the Courts.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of companies that received Coronavirus Bounce Back Loans were issued to companies that had been created by company formation agents.

Paul Scully: The Department do not hold this information.

Parental Leave and Parental Pay

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish his timetable for publishing the findings of the evaluation of Shared Parental Leave and Pay which took place in 2019.

Paul Scully: Evaluating Shared Parental Leave and Pay is an important part of the policymaking process. The Government commissioned large, representative surveys of parents and employees which asked about a range of parental leave and pay entitlements as well as their experience of Shared Parental Leave specifically. We also consulted on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay. We will publish our findings in due course.

British Business Bank

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulation and supervision of the British Business Bank.

Paul Scully: The British Business Bank (BBB) is a company of which the Secretary of State is the sole shareholder. The directors of the company are responsible for supervising its activities as set out in the Companies Act. A Shareholder Framework Document governs the relationship between the shareholder and the BBB. This includes provision for a shareholder representative on the board. The BBB is not (and has never been) a regulated bank, given its wholesale model, i.e. ordinarily delivering through delivery partners (c.130), with no direct relationship with SME borrowers. These delivery partners are typically regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and, in the case of banks, the Prudential Regulation Authority. The BBB itself does not carry out regulated activities.

Business: Coronavirus

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on which dates the covid-19 loan scheme counter-fraud strategy board has met.

Paul Scully: The Covid-19 Counter Fraud Strategy Board has met on the following dates:19-10-202003-11-202016-11-202030-11-202014-12-202011-01-202125-01-202108-02-202122-02-202108-03-202122-03-202108-04-202119-04-202104-05-202117-05-202114-06-202128-06-202126-07-202123-08-202104-10-202101-11-202106-12-202113-01-202207-02-202207-03-202204-04-202203-05-2022.

Employment: Pregnancy

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the consultation response, Good Work Plan: Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination, published in July 2019, what progress his Department has made on tackling pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace.

Paul Scully: Following the Government’s response to the consultation on redundancy protection and pregnancy and maternity discrimination the country entered a period of unprecedented challenge as it tackled the pandemic. The Government took extensive measures to support and protect the people most affected, including pregnant women and new mothers. As the country emerged from the pandemic, the Government established a Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination Advisory Board. The Board has met three times, has reviewed Health and Safety Executive guidance on pregnant women and risk assessments and has considered the issues raised through Members’ helplines - which will be used to inform future work.

Attorney General

Northern Ireland Protocol: Legal Opinion

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether the cost of the most recent external legal advice procured by the Government on matters relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol was above or below the level that would normally require a competitive tender process under the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and associated guidance.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether details of the Government's most recent procurement of external legal advice on matters relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol have been published on the Contracts Finder website; and if she will publish (a) the award letter and (b) the statement of requirements arising from that procurement process.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether she was personally involved in the most recent process of deciding which individual or organisation should be paid out of public funds for the provision of external legal advice on matters relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Alex Chalk: Whether or not the Attorney General sought advice from external counsel in this case, and associated information, relates to her function as a Law Officer and chief legal adviser to the Government. It is a longstanding convention, accepted by governments of all parties, not to disclose whether the Law Officers have given legal advice or the contents of any advice. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability to give full and frank legal advice on some of the most contentious and difficult issues the Government will be considering. The Attorney General and the Attorney General’s Office are subject to the same requirements and oversight in relation to the use of public funds as any other minister and Government department respectively, as set out in relevant guidance from HM Treasury.

Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, what the estimated value of the reports of serious or complex fraud, as defined within the remit of the Serious Fraud Office, has been in each of the last ten calendar years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many allegations of fraud have been reported to Serious Fraud Office in each of the last ten years.

Alex Chalk: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) does not hold the data on the estimated value of fraud reported to the Office over the last 10 years. Referrals received by the SFO, whilst alleging crime, often do not provide an estimate of loss or actual loss reported. Identifying the true value of reported fraud requires investigation. The SFO receives approximately 1,200 referrals of alleged criminality every year. These range in seriousness and come from a variety of sources, including the public, whistle-blowers and corporate referrals. Every referral the SFO receives is researched and/or assessed to help determine if it is a matter that the SFO should investigate. The SFO only takes on only the most complex fraud and bribery cases. Should a referral not meet the reasonable suspicion threshold and the Director’s Statement of Principle, it may be referred to another law enforcement agency or discontinued.

Fraud: Criminal Investigation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many investigations the Serious Fraud Office has opened in each calendar year between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2021.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, what the individual value of each (a) fine and (b) Deferred Prosecution Agreement issued by the Serious Fraud Office was in the last ten years.

Alex Chalk: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opened a total of 49 criminal cases from January 2016 until December 2021. Ten (10) cases were opened in 2016, eleven (11) cases were opened in 2017, ten (10) cases were opened in 2018, five (5) case were opened in 2019, eight (8) cases were opened in 2020, and five (5) cases were opened in 2021. These numbers do not include cases that are related to the SFO’s Proceeds of Crime, International Assistance and/or Mutual Legal Assistance efforts.The below table shows the fines issued by the SFO since 2016:Date of OutcomeMonetary value of fine or financial penaltyJanuary 2016£1,136,799February 2016£1,400,000June 2016£6,375,000October 2017£20,000October 2017£20,000October 2017£20,000January 2019£5,000January 2019£20,000January 2019£15,000June 2019£850,000November 2019£15,000,000January 2020£800April 2021£7,521,920October 2021£47,197,640The SFO does not hold data on fines issued prior to 2016. These results do not include costs awarded to the SFO nor any confiscation orders.Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) were introduced on 24 February 2014, under the provisions of Schedule 17 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. They are available to the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office. Since 2014 the SFO has entered in to a total of 12 DPAs.Date of OutcomeCurrencyTotal (Per DPA)November 2015US$32,576,197July 2016GBP£6,553,085January 2017GBP£510,252,645April 2017GBP£132,062,451July 2019GBP£22,900,000October 2019GBP£2,069,861January 2020EUR€990,963,712July 2020GBP£44,400,000October 2020GBP£2,979,686July 2021GBP£103,310,424July 2021GBP£1,994,071July 2021GBP£515,994The above includes all financial amounts within each DPA, which could consist of:Financial PenaltyDisgorgement of ProfitsCompensationCost Awards to the SFO

Department of Health and Social Care

Endometriosis

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of updating the NICE guidelines on endometriosis with regards to (a) pain management, (b) care pathways for endometriosis outside the pelvic area and (c) mental health.

Edward Argar: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis includes recommendations on pharmacological pain management and organisation of care. It recognises that people with endometriosis may have complex needs and require long-term support. The guideline states that women with suspected or confirmed endometriosis should be provided with information and support which takes their psychosexual and emotional needs into account.NICE reviewed its endometriosis guideline in late 2021 and amended the guideline to highlight that people with endometriosis outside the pelvic cavity should be referred to a specialist endometriosis centre. NICE plans to carry out a further review of its guideline on endometriosis in 2022/23 to determine whether it should be updated.

Dental Services: Greater Manchester

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS dentists in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made as National Health Service dental provision is planned by regional commissioning teams.An additional £50 million for NHS dentistry was provided for the final quarter of 2021/22 to provide urgent care to patients. The North West, including Greater Manchester and Stockport, was allocated £7,310,000. Health Education England has made recommendations in its Advancing Dental Care Review, which aim to tackle recruitment, retention and attracting dentists to areas which are currently less well served. This will improve the distribution of training posts, resulting in more equitable access to dentists and dental care professionals.

Dialysis Machines: Children

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support families with a child receiving home dialysis with energy costs.

Maria Caulfield: Children undergoing renal dialysis may qualify for the middle rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Depending on when and where they dialyse, they may be treated as satisfying the disability tests for the day or night. DLA can also enable families to access a range of additional support, such as the blue badge scheme and exemption from the benefits cap.Paediatric home haemodialysis services are commissioned by NHS England and provided by specialist renal centres. There is currently no national tariff for paediatric home dialysis and as such it is at the discretion of individual providers as to whether additional direct utility costs for patients are reimbursed. The Renal Services Clinical Reference Group has begun a review of the reimbursement process for children receiving home dialysis.

Care Homes: Insurance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support care homes to manage the rising cost of insurance.

Gillian Keegan: The Local Government Finance Settlement makes an additional £3.7 billion available to councils. As part of this settlement, local authorities have an additional £1 billion for social care in 2022/23. Councils also have access to unring-fenced grants, including the 2022/23 Services Grant and from council tax. Local authorities are best placed to determine how this additional funding can be used to plan care and support for the local population. However, we expect local authorities to take into account factors which affect the cost of providing care, such as increased insurance costs, when setting fees.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of immunocompromised patients who have received antiviral treatment in response to covid-19 and have subsequently (a) been hospitalised and (b) died with covid-19.

Maggie Throup: This information is not held centrally in the format requested.

Wood-burning Stoves: Health Hazards

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish guidance on potential health risks of indoor log burners in homes.

Maggie Throup: We have no specific plans to do so. In 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance suggesting that the use of wood burners in the home may lead to poor air quality and that residents should consider increasing ventilation to avoid indoor accumulation of particulate matter.

Oral Tobacco: Health Hazards

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the 2006 study by McNeill and West in the British Medical Journal that chewed tobacco is a major cause of oral cancer, if his Department will make an assessment of the safety of chewing tobacco products; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the impact of chewing tobacco on health inequalities among Bengali women.

Maggie Throup: No formal assessment of the safety of chewing tobacco has been made and there are no current plans to assess its impact on health inequalities among Bengali women. However, traditional smokeless tobacco products are harmful to health by causing oral, oesophageal and pancreatic cancers. It remains our policy to help people to quit all forms of tobacco use through behavioural support from stop smoking services, nicotine replacement therapy or e-cigarettes.

Foetuses: Pain

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of research conducted by Dr Stuart Derbyshire, if he will ask the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to update its guidelines on the use of fetal painkillers from 18 weeks gestation prior to an abortion.

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will require the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to publish the responses by the peer reviewers to (a) Fetal awareness: review of research and recommendations for practice, published in 2010 and (b) the forthcoming set of guidelines on fetal pain.

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to help ensure that the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists takes wide-ranging evidence in open session as part of its upcoming review of its fetal pain guidelines, as recommended by the All Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group’s inquiry into fetal pain, published in 2020.

Maggie Throup: The Department does not set clinical practice. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists considered the issue of fetal pain and awareness in its guidelines ‘The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion’ and ‘Fetal Awareness: Review of Research and Recommendations for Practice’, which are available at the following links:https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/abortion-guideline_web_1.pdfhttps://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/rcogfetalawarenesswpr0610.pdfThe Royal College is currently reviewing ‘Fetal Awareness: Review and Recommendations for Practice’, independently of Government. The Department has brought Dr Stuart Derbyshire’s research to the attention of the College, which established a review group to consider the latest evidence on fetal pain and fetal awareness. The gathering of evidence for the review is a matter for this group.

Abortions: Health Services

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS takes to ensure that the costs of abortion services provided on the NHS by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service are an accurate reflection of the costs involved.

Maggie Throup: The information requested is not held centrally. Contracting and funding abortion services and assurance of spend is a matter for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). It is for CCGs to take appropriate steps to ensure the costs of abortion services provided through the National Health Service by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service are an accurate reflection of the costs involved.

Coronavirus: Screening

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the income generated from desktop review fees submitted by companies applying to the Coronavirus Test Devices Approval (CTDA) process has been reinvested to ensure that the newly introduced regulator operates proficiently and at a high standard.

Maggie Throup: The Coronavirus Test Devices Approval (CTDA) process operates on a cost recovery basis and does not generate any income from its desktop review fees, in excess of expenses incurred in the carrying out of its core duties. All revenue generated is offset against the cost of running the CTDA process.

Travel: Quarantine

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of refunds issued for early release from the managed quarantine service as a result of policy changes made on 15 December 2021.

Maggie Throup: The total refunds granted to passengers relating to early release on 15 December was £1,987,483.

Travel: Quarantine

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is for calculating refunds to individuals subject to the managed quarantine service who were granted early exemption from quarantine on and before 14 December 2021.

Maggie Throup: In England, guests who were released early from the managed quarantine service were entitled to a refund based upon the unused part of their quarantine package. All refund requests were considered on a case-by-case basis.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have received payments from the vaccines damages scheme in each of the last five years.

Maggie Throup: The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme provides a one-off tax-free payment, currently £120,000, to successful applicants where vaccination has caused severe disablement. The following table shows the number of claimants which have received payments in each of the last five years.Calendar yearAwards2018420192202042021120220

Department for Education

Schools: Biometrics

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that schools offer pupils alternatives to biometric identification to access services and education.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the types of biometric data of pupils collected in state schools.

Mr Robin Walker: Advice for schools and colleges that wish to use personal information about pupils, for the purposes of using automated biometric recognition systems, is set out in the department’s non-statutory guidance, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/692116/Protection_of_Biometric_Information.pdf. The guidance covers legal duties, under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, in relation to the processing of biometric information in schools. It also covers the data protection regime.The guidance is clear that reasonable alternative arrangements must be provided for pupils who do not use automated biometric recognition systems. These alternative arrangements should ensure that pupils do not suffer any disadvantage or difficulty in accessing services or premises. Likewise, such arrangements should not place any additional burden on parents whose children are not participating in such a system.The department has no plans to undertake any assessment of the types of biometric data of pupils collected in state schools. The decision to use biometric technology rests entirely with individual schools, who are legally responsible for any data they gather and use, according to the UK General Data Protection Regulation, Protection of Freedoms Act and Data Protection Act. As such, the department believes that if a school wishes to introduce biometric technology, it is rightly a decision for an individual school to make. This decision should be taken based on its own operational needs, in consultation with its staff, pupils, parents and carers and having regard to, amongst other things, the relevant data protection law.

Children: Day Care

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of encouraging local authorities to allow parents to apply for free childcare midway through a school term.

Will Quince: As set out in the regulations underpinning the entitlements to free early education and childcare, children become eligible for a free early education place at different points in the year. Depending on when the child turns three, the 30 hours free childcare entitlement begins from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April following their third birthday.These termly deadlines link closely with that of the department’s other early entitlements to create consistency across the offers. The merit of delivering the entitlements in this way are that it allows local authorities and childcare providers to better plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.This is intended to ensure that all children are entitled to at least three years of early education and/or reception before they reach statutory school age.

National Curriculum Tests

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) educational value and (b) impact on children and schools of proceeding with SATS in the 2021-22 year in the context of disruption resulting from the covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Robin Walker: The department recognises that pupils will have missed a critical period of their learning due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Statutory assessments at the end of key stage 2 are an important part of our primary education system. Assessments provide vital information to parents about their child’s attainment and help schools identify where additional support is best targeted to individuals. The school performance measures generated from these assessments play an important role in supporting schools to improve, helping us to hold primary schools to account for the education they provide.This year, the data from the assessments will help parents, schools, and the department to understand more clearly the impact of the pandemic on pupils and how this varies between particular groups of pupils, schools and local authorities. The decision to return to a full programme of primary assessments in the 2021/22 academic year was considered carefully and in taking this decision, we discussed our plans with a range of stakeholders, including teachers, school leaders and unions.The department knows that the pandemic has impacted the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people and will have an impact in the longer-term. The department expects leaders and teachers to consider their pupils’ mental health and wellbeing as a priority and identify those who may need additional support.Although schools should encourage all pupils to work hard and achieve well, the department does not recommend that they devote excessive preparation time to assessment, and certainly not at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Schools should support a culture of wellbeing amongst staff and pupils.

Sex and Relationship Education

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support the training of educators to ensure they are confident in teaching Relationships and Sex Education within primary and secondary schools (a) nationally and (b) in Leicestershire.

Mr Robin Walker: Since September 2020, Relationships Education (for primary school pupils), Relationships and Sex Education (for secondary school pupils) and Health Education (for all pupils in state-funded schools) has been compulsory for all pupils in England.To support teachers to deliver the new curriculum safely and with confidence the department produced a one-stop page for schools, including teacher training modules and implementation guidance. This information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health.The department also funded the delivery of a train the trainer and peer support programme to a total of 4,800 schools between April 2020 and July 2021, delivered regionally by teaching schools and covering all areas including Leicestershire schools. This was a cascade model of training, whereby those trained are expected to share the training with other teachers in their school and wider school networks.Following the publication of Ofsted’s review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges, the department has committed to provide additional support to help teachers deliver RSHE effectively and confidently to support young people to develop healthy relationships and to prevent sexual violence and sexual harassment. The department has also delivered three webinars on teaching about domestic abuse, pornography, and sexual exploitation, reaching over 1,000 teachers nationally. The department has started work on user research to inform non-statutory guidance on teaching relationships education to prevent sexual harassment and violence and formed an expert teacher group to inform this work.The department has plans in place to monitor national implementation over time, including through new quantitative and qualitative research, which will seek to understand the quality of implementation, including teacher confidence in teaching the statutory requirements. The findings from this research will inform a review of the statutory guidance in due course.

Universities: Freedom of Expression

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that freedom of speech is protected in UK universities.

Michelle Donelan: The government believes that freedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental pillars of our higher education (HE) system and that protecting these principles should be a priority for universities.The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, introduced on 12 May 2021, will strengthen existing freedom of speech duties and directly address gaps within the existing law. This includes the fact there is no clear way of enforcing the current law when an HE provider breaches it, as well as applying the duties directly to students’ unions and constituent colleges including those at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The Bill introduces a role on the Office for Students board, with responsibility for overseeing its strengthened duties to promote freedom of speech and investigate where potential breaches of the duties occur.The changes will introduce clear consequences for breaches of the new duties and ensure that these principles are upheld.The Bill will reach report stage in the House of Commons shortly.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Proceedings: Females

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating further funding to support a whole systems approach to women in contact or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system.

James Cartlidge: In January 2021, the Government published a Concordat on Women in or at Risk of Contact with the Criminal Justice System which set out the case for and key principles of Whole System Approaches. The MoJ will shortly be publishing a report on progress to date and outlining our priorities for driving forward local partnership working in 2022.

Television Licences: Older People

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines have been issued to people over 75 for non-payment of TV licences for the calendar year of 2021.

James Cartlidge: In the calendar year of 2021, there have been 0 fines issued to people over 75 for the non-payment of TV licences.

Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support is being made available for victims and survivors of domestic abuse, including children (a) nationally and (b) in Leicestershire.

Victoria Atkins: The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduces a range of measures to help protect victims of domestic abuse and their children, including prohibiting abusers from cross-examining their victims in the family and civil courts, giving victims enhanced access to special measures in the courtroom, and introducing powerful new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders. The Act recognises that domestic abuse can impact on a child who sees or hears or experiences the effects of the abuse and it treats such children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right. In 2021/22, the Ministry of Justice provided £150.5m for victim and witness support services, including those which support victims of domestic abuse. Of this, the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner received c£2m to commission local victim support services. We are increasing funding for victim and witness support services to £185m by 2024/25. This additional funding will enable us to significantly expand victim support services including increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers funded by the MoJ to over 1,000. On 25 March, the Ministry of Justice announced that it will be committing £147 million of this budget per annum on a multi-year basis, for the next three years (2022/23 to 2024/25 inclusive). This will allow victim support services, and those commissioning them, to invest in building capacity and strengthen the resilience of services, which will in turn provide consistency to victims receiving support. It will help to ensure that high quality support is available to victims when needed.

Criminal Proceedings: Females

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to oral evidence provided by officials in his Department to the Public Accounts Committee on 2 February 2022 relating to its inquiry on Improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system, HC997, Q40, if his Department will publish its assessment on what helps to rehabilitate women.

Victoria Atkins: The Female Offender Strategy recognised in its commitments for Better Custody that if we are to achieve equal outcomes for women, we should adopt a gender-informed approach and an adapted environment, that meets their gender-specific needs. Our assessment of what rehabilitates women is included in the design principles for the new women’s facilities which are set out in the Prisons Strategy White Paper. These principles were informed by both the Female Offender Strategy and engagement with those with lived experience and our experienced staff in the women’s estate.

Prison Officers: Cameras

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that all Prisoner Escorting and Custody officers have access to body-worn cameras.

Victoria Atkins: The existing Prison Service Instruction (PSI) relating to body-worn video cameras (BWVC) does not provide for their use in court buildings. It is important that the use of BWVCs is compliant with the requirements of data protection legislation, which was a factor in prescribing the confines of their use within the PSI. A new Policy Framework is due to be released later this year which will replace the PSI and reflect the up-to-date procedures for camera use, and current best practice. This is being done in tandem with a procurement exercise to replace the BWVC equipment currently used within the public sector prison estate. The protection and safety of all our frontline workers is of the upmost importance to HMPPS. The Assaults on Emergency Workers Act covers Prisoner Escorting and Custody Services (PECS) officers, should they become victim of an assault in the workplace.

Prisons: Food

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make assessment of the need to review diets and meals provided to prisoners on the prison estate to help ensure high nutritional provision and reduced use of processed foods.

Victoria Atkins: Prison Rules require that prisoners are provided with meals that are wholesome, nutritious, well prepared, reasonably varied and sufficient in quantity. All meals take religious, cultural and medical requirements into account and are informed by Government guidance on eating a healthy diet. We are working in partnership to review menus across the public sector estate, with 2,600 recipes being improved, removing unhealthy choices while ensuring religious, cultural and nutritional requirements continue to be met.

Reoffenders

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the national re-offending rates of prison leavers were by those that have re-offended after (a) two, (b) five, and (c) nine years of release in the period since 2010.

Kit Malthouse: The answer can only be provided at disproportionate cost as it would require data matching across separate systems.

Prisoners' Release: Females

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support women at risk of homelessness following their release from prison.

Kit Malthouse: This Government is committed to ending rough sleeping and the Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our vision that no-one subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless.To achieve this, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have launched a new transitional accommodation service providing up to 12 weeks’ basic accommodation and support for those leaving prison at risk of homelessness. Originally launched in 5 probation regions, we will roll out the service across England and Wales this year, supporting the thousands of prison leavers who leave prison each year who would otherwise lack stable accommodation. We started the first phase of the commercial process to deliver this expansion in January and published the Invitation to Tender on 18th May 2022.The service takes account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs, with accommodation provision dedicated to single gender usage. Community Probation Practitioners will work with local partners to ensure that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks transitional accommodation.HMPPS has also introduced Housing Specialists in twenty prisons, to support prisons to be more strategic in their response to reducing homelessness, including working in partnership with Probation teams and Local Authorities to develop accommodation pathways on release from prison. Our White Paper outlines our commitment to increase the number of Housing Specialists to 48 across England and Wales, including within the female estate.

Debt Collection

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to take steps help ensure that claimants in civil debt recovery cases are kept informed of the progress of court bailiff action on their behalf.

James Cartlidge: In October 2021, following a review of the communications sent by HMCTS to claimants regarding the progress of their warrant, improvements to our case management system were made. This introduced improved communications to give claimants more focussed details on the progress of a warrant.The HMCTS Reform Programme will provide the opportunity to review and deliver improvements to the service. The aspect of the Civil Reform Project focused on the enforcement of judgments commenced in April 2022 and is due to conclude by March 2023.

Debt Collection

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of court bailiffs in the collection of unpaid debts following a court order for recovery and enforcement; and what steps he plans to take to improve services for claimants seeking recovery of unpaid debts.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Justice and HMCTS have taken steps to review County Court bailiffs’ capacity and have introduced efficiencies by reducing their administrative tasks. This has, and will, free up more bailiff resources to focus on enforcement activity.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Sri Lanka: British Nationals Abroad

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the safety of British nationals in Sri Lanka in light of the recent civil unrest in that country.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government takes the safety and security of British nationals overseas seriously, and regularly communicates through travel advice and messaging from the British High Commission in Colombo. Our advice helps British nationals to make informed decisions. Travel advice is advisory only and people must take personal responsibility for any trips they make abroad. Our travel advice remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks. Consular staff continue to provide a full range of consular services to British nationals in Sri Lanka. We continue to monitor the situation in Sri Lanka.We are closely following the situation since attacks against peaceful protesters on 9 May and outbreaks of violence that followed. The Minister for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has made clear that violence against peaceful protestors is unacceptable and that those responsible for attacks should be held accountable. Fundamental rights including the right to peaceful protest must be protected. We encourage all sides to find a democratic and inclusive approach to resolving the current political and economic challenges.

Abdul Kolim

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 7 December 2021 to Question 83249 on Morocco: Detainees, how many times (a) consular officials have met (i) Mr Kolim and (ii) his family and (b) her Department has raised Mr Kolim's case with the Moroccan authorities since 7 December 2021.

Vicky Ford: We are in regular contact with Mr Kolim and his family and are providing consular support. We continue to raise his case with the Moroccan authorities.

International Organisations

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which international organisations are in receipt of privileges in the UK within the terms of the International Organisations Act 1968 as of 12 May 2022.

Vicky Ford: The following International Organisations are in receipt of privileges and immunities in the UK as of 12 May 2022 within the terms of the International Organisations Act and other relevant legislation:African Development BankEuropean Investment BankInternational Development AssociationNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)African Development FundEuropean Medicines Evaluation AgencyInternational Education Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Naval Communications AgencyAsian Development BankEuropean NGSS AgencyInternational Finance CorporationOrganisation for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentAsian Infrastructure Investment BankEuropean Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentOrganisation Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR)Bank for International Settlements (BIS)European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol)International Grains Organisation (formerly International Wheat Council)Organisation Prohibition of Chemical WeaponsCaribbean Development BankEuropean ParliamentInternational Labour OrganisationOslo and Paris Commissions (OSPAR)Common Fund for CommoditiesEuropean Patent OrganisationInternational Lead and Zinc Study GroupPreparatory Commission for Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty OrganisationCommonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International (CABI)European Space AgencyInternational Maritime OrganisationSquare Kilometre Array Organisation (SKAO)Commonwealth FoundationEuropean Southern ObservatoryInternational Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO)United NationsCommonwealth SecretariatEuropean Telecommunications Satellite OrganisationInternational Monetary Fund (IMF)United Nations Development ProgrammeCommonwealth Telecommunications OrganisationEuropean UnionInternational Oil Pollution Compensation FundUnited Nations Environment ProgrammeCouncil of EuropeFood and Agricultural Organisation (of the UN)International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund 1992United Nations Information CentreCustoms Cooperation CouncilHong Kong Export Trade OfficeInternational Organisation for MigrationUnited Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentIndependent International Commission on DecommissioningInternational Rubber Study GroupUnited Nations World Food ProgrammeEuropean Atomic Energy CommunityInter-American Development BankInternational Seabed AuthorityUnified Patents CourtEuropean Banking AuthorityInternational Atomic Energy AgencyInternational Sugar OrganisationUniversal Postal UnionEuropean Bioinformatics Institute (also known as European Molecular Biology Laboratory)International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (ITSO)World Health OrganisationEuropean Centre for Medium Range Weather ForecastingInternational Civil Aviation OrganisationInternational Telecommunications UnionWorld Intellectual Property OrganisationEuropean Coal and Steel CommunityInternational Cocoa OrganisationInternational Tribunal Law of the SeaWorld Meteorological OrganisationEuropean Commission of Human RightsInternational Coffee OrganisationInternational Whaling Commission (IWC)World Trade OrganisationEuropean Committee for Prevention of TortureInternational Court of Justice (UN)North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) European CommunityInternational Criminal CourtNorth Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO)

India: Religious Freedom

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the issues of (a) violence and (b) persecution of Muslims in India.

Vicky Ford: The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters and where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, also regularly speaks to the High Commissioner of India, and human rights including freedom of religion or belief forms part of that dialogue.The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions will continue to follow reports of violence and discrimination closely, while recognising that these are matters for India. It is for the Indian Government to address the concerns of all Indian citizens, regardless of faith. Our network of High Commissions across India also regularly meet religious representatives and have run projects supporting minority rights.

Mubarak Bala

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what what discussions she has had with the Nigerian government on the imprisonment of Mubarak Bala for blasphemy; and if she will make a statement.

Vicky Ford: I [Minister Ford] raised concerns about Mr Bala's case, and the severity of his sentence, with Nigeria's Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, earlier this month. The British High Commissioner has also engaged with the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, to express our concerns. She has made clear the importance of protecting religious minorities, and promoting human rights for all. Officials at the British High Commission have also raised Mr Bala's case with the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission.We will continue to follow developments in Mr Bala's case closely, and will continue to stress the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.

Rwanda: Asylum

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK’s partnership with Rwanda on development opportunities in that country.

Vicky Ford: The UK is a longstanding partner to Rwanda, having provided official development assistance (ODA) to support Rwanda's social and economic development since the 1990s. Our development cooperation has delivered huge benefit to the people of Rwanda, helping to lift 2 million people out of poverty. The Migration and Economic Development Partnership builds on this, whilst also delivering a much-needed solution to global migration challenges, and will provide a substantial boost to the development of Rwanda, including on jobs, skills and opportunities to benefit both migrants and host communities.

Horn of Africa: Droughts

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding has the UK Government has disbursed to date this year in response to the Horn of Africa drought.

Vicky Ford: The UK is a major humanitarian donor to the East Africa region. In 2022, to support communities affected by drought, and also flooding and conflict, the UK has provided £72.25 million to Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan. Many communities in the region are affected by concurrent humanitarian shocks with drought and insecurity impacting communities in Somalia and Ethiopia simultaneously.

Pape Malick Thiam

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will raise the case of journalist Pape Malick Thiam with her Senegalese counterpart.

Vicky Ford: The UK is a longstanding champion of media freedom globally. We co-founded the Media Freedom Coalition, and continue to work with it, and partners, to address the deterioration in global media freedom.Our Embassy in Dakar continues to monitor the case of the journalist Pape Malick Thiam. Last year, we funded work to improve the capacity of journalists to report freely in Senegal.

Developing Countries: Food

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that developing countries are food secure in the context of the situation in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: Russia's invasion of Ukraine is exacerbating global food insecurity risks, which were already heightened by climate change, conflict and Covid-19. With 1.7 billion people in over 100 countries now facing food, energy and commodity price rises, the global impact of Russia's war and the pursuit of practical solutions will be a key priority.The UK is stepping up to respond. We have announced emergency humanitarian assistance to address critical rising food insecurity in the Horn of Africa and in Yemen and have pledged £286 million to meet needs in Afghanistan. With G7 allies, we are discussing Germany's proposal for a G7 Global Alliance on Food Security, to scale up a rapid, needs-based coordinated response, building on current food security architecture. In April, the UK and our partners secured the largest ever financial commitment from the World Bank of $170 billion to support countries faced with economic challenges, including the impact of the Russian invasion.

Kosovo: Money Laundering

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help the Kosovan Government tackle money laundering practices.

James Cleverly: The UK and Kosovan Governments work together closely to tackle economic crime. We have a UK Fiscal Crime Liaison Officer based in Kosovo, who works operationally with Kosovan counterparts to understand illicit financial flows and investigate cases with links to the UK, work which has already resulted in disruption to money laundering routes. Our Fiscal Crime Liaison Officer also supports and trains Kosovo institutions such as the Tax Administration, Financial Intelligence Unit, Customs and the Police. Additionally, we will soon be launching a new UK-funded project to prevent illicit financial flows through strengthening the supervisory role of the Central Bank and the Financial Intelligence Unit of Kosovo towards financial institutions.

Ukraine: Peace Negotiations

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of available peaceful methods of de-escalation of conflict in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK welcomes Ukraine's ongoing commitment to a diplomatic path to de-escalate, and we will continue to support them in achieving an outcome that delivers for Ukraine and its people. President Putin seems determined to pursue his path of violence and aggression, as evidenced by his increased military action in the Donbas and continued barbaric assault of Mariupol. We are therefore continuing to increase our economic pressure on him through sanctions, as well as providing the military assistance Ukraine needs to defend itself.

Mali: Armed Conflict

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support investigations into the involvement of (a) Russian mercenary groups, and (b) Russian military personnel in reported attacks on civilians in (i) Moura, (ii) Nioni, and (iii) Hombori in Mali during March and April 2022.

James Cleverly: The presence of the Wagner Group in Mali risks destabilising the wider region and undermining security for local populations. Following a CT operation carried out by the Malian Armed Forces in Moura, with the alleged involvement of Wagner Group, the Minister for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Vicky Ford, called for an urgent, transparent and impartial investigation to bring those responsible for these attacks to justice. She drew attention to the surge in alleged human rights abuses since the deployment of Wagner Group to Mali and urged the Malian authorities to end all ties with the mercenary group, to facilitate unfettered access for the UN's peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to conduct an independent investigation.

Eswatini: Politics and Government

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support coordinated (a) Commonwealth, (b) Southern African Development Community, (c) African Union, and (d) UK diplomatic engagement with Eswatini to support peaceful, inclusive and constructive engagement between the government and the democratisation movement in that country.

Vicky Ford: Further to the re-establishment of a resident UK High Commission in Eswatini in 2019, which demonstrated our commitment to the country's development, the UK government has cooperated on the ground and regionally with our key bilateral and multilateral partners, including the Commonwealth Secretariat and Ministerial Action Group as well as the SADC (notably the South African-led Troika Organ on Politics, Defence and Security), to promote respect for human rights and democratisation in Eswatini. The UK's High Commissioner continues to encourage the government to allow the opposition to operate without impediment, and to implement reforms. He has also been involved in the establishment of a 'development partner-government forum' as a platform for diplomatic and multilateral actors to work together with the Government of Eswatini to promote equitable social and economic development, to lobby for progress on a range of human rights concerns and to support an inclusive, transparent and peaceful national dialogue process.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the availability of mechanisms to support charities and individuals seeking to transport donated goods to Ukraine.

James Cleverly: Individuals wanting to support the aid effort in Ukraine are encouraged to do so through donations to trusted charities or existing humanitarian appeals such as the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and UN appeals, rather than donating goods. Cash can be transferred quickly to areas where it is needed and individuals and aid organisations can use it to buy the items they need the most. Unsolicited donations of goods, although well-meant, can obstruct supply chains and delay more urgent life-saving assistance from getting through. Reputable charities will be able to efficiently utilise existing supply chains and experienced aid workers to reach the people who are most in need. Advice on how individuals can support the Ukraine aid effort is available on: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukraine-what-you-can-do-to-help

Middle East: Wheat

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of rising wheat prices on UNRWA’s operations in (a) the occupied Palestinian territory and (b) Lebanon.

Amanda Milling: The UK continues to monitor closely the ongoing humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Lebanon. The UK is a long-term supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides protection and core services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and across the wider region. The UK is working with UNRWA and other donors to improve UNRWA's financial viability. This includes broadening UNRWA's donor base, encouraging the full disbursement of pledges and encouraging support through multi-year funding.

Israel: Palestinians

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate her Department has made of (a) the number of Palestinian (i) homes and (ii) healthcare centres that were Gaza damaged or destroyed during Israel’s military offensive in May 2021, and (b) how many of these have been fully rebuilt or rehabilitated.

Amanda Milling: The UK continues to monitor closely the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza. We continue to work with key partners, including the World Bank and the UN to understand the ongoing reconstruction efforts in Gaza. The World Bank issued a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment report in July 2021 to assess the damage which is publicly available. We continue to urge access into and out of Gaza, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, for humanitarian actors, reconstruction materials and those, including Palestinians, travelling for medical purposes.

Israel: Palestinians

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the Government of Israel regarding reports that its forces obstructed and assaulted health workers treating those injured in recent raids in the Al Aqsa compound.

Amanda Milling: We encourage all parties to maintain calm, avoid provocation and to ensure the safety and the security of the Al Haram Al Sharif / Temple Mount and all who worship there. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of the Israel security force's adherence to the principles of necessity and proportionality when defending its legitimate security interest. The wounded should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.

Israel: Palestinians

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the number of Palestinians injured by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2022 and (b) the adequacy of local healthcare resources to treat the wounded.

Amanda Milling: We regularly raise Palestinians injured by Israeli Defense Forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Israeli authorities, encouraging them to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of the Israel security force's adherence to the principles of necessity and proportionality when defending its legitimate security interest. The wounded should be able to access urgent medical care they need.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the long-term impact of increased orders for (a) coal and (b) other fossil fuels from high-income countries to African countries following the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on (i) the long-term stability, sustainability and inclusivity of affected African economies and (ii) the prospects for transition to economic models compatible with net zero commitments for affected African economies; and what steps she is taking to prevent such negative impacts.

Vicky Ford: The FCDO has carried out some analysis of the economic impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Africa. Demand for fossil fuels from African producer countries may potentially increase, though this is currently unclear. Some African countries would likely face operational challenges in the short term if they were to expand production. We continue to monitor and will analyse developments closely.The UK remains committed to supporting African countries in making inclusive and just energy transitions. The UK is playing a leading role in the Just Energy Transition Partnership with South Africa announced at COP26 which will provide $8.5 billion of finance from partners to help move away from coal power.

Ministry of Defence

LE TacCIS Programme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his latest estimate is of the initial operational capability (IOC) date for Morpheus; how that estimate compares to his Department's original IOC date; and what assessment he has made of the impact of any potential delay on the capability needed to deploy a fully digitised warfighting division by 2030.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the initial operational capability date is for the Morpheus program; and what level of confidence he has in that date being met.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency plans his Department has put in place in the event that Morpheus cannot be delivered by its expected initial operational capability date in order to prevent delays to the Warfighting Division by 2030.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for his Department to complete a review into the Morpheus programme.

Jeremy Quin: Delivery of the first element of the MORPHEUS project is late and the MOD is considering the optimum route to achieve delivery of the full MORPHEUS capability. The MOD will continue to meet all our operational requirements. MOD are actively considering how best to deliver on the Morpheus project including working with General Dynamics Mission Systems UK on potential strategies to mitigate delays to delivery. This will determine the revised Initial Operating Capability date. This work is being led by a dedicated Director Level Senior Responsible Officer.

Finland and Sweden: NATO

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's position is on (a) Finland and (b) Sweden joining NATO; and what discussions he has had with the Governments of those countries on their potential membership of NATO.

James Heappey: The UK fully supports both Finland and Sweden and their decision to apply for membership. This is another welcome move by long-standing friends and follows extensive and democratic consultation within both countries. NATO is a defensive alliance and we believe both countries will fortify Northern Europe’s defences in the face of renewed threats. We look forward to integrating them into the Alliance as soon as possible. The UK is clear that having Sweden and Finland in the alliance would be good for their own security, and good for the security of the entire Alliance. NATO, Finland and Sweden train and exercise together on a regular basis. They participate in NATO Missions and Operations. NATO has stepped up cooperation with both countries since the beginning of the crisis. They have much to contribute to our shared security. The UK and all Allies are committed to NATO’s Open Door Policy. Enlargement is a decision for NATO itself, and NATO members are always able to discuss matters relating to the future of the Alliance. It is important that Allies, Finland and Sweden have sufficient opportunity for constructive discussions when discussing NATO accession. These discussions are an important step in the accession process.We welcome the decision by Finland and Sweden. This is an historic moment, and the UK stands ready to offer them our every assistance during the accession process.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reports of (a) leaking roofs, (b) broken boilers, (c) broken cookers and (d) vermin were recorded in Single Living Accommodation, excluding Substitute Single Living Accommodation, in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Quin: We are reviewing information sources. I will write to the hon. Gentleman in due course and place a copy of my response in the library of the House.

Fleet Solid Support Ships: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has signed non-disclosure agreements in relation to the Fleet Solid Support Ship contract.

Jeremy Quin: The Fleet Solid Support ship Competitive Procurement Phase contracts include confidentiality provisions in order to protect Department and Contractor data, as is standard practice in Government contracts.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 118592, what the required standard is for ceremonial caps.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 121824 on 21 February 2022 to the hon. Member for York Central (Rachel Maskell).Armed Forces Furs (docx, 19.6KB)

Ministry of Defence: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 6 of the Committee of Public Accounts report on Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan 2021-31, published on 11 May 2022, how his Department plans to institute a sense of control over the MOD budget.

Jeremy Quin: This is the first time in five years the National Audit Office have not said the plan is unaffordable. This has been achieved through a combination of increased funding through the Spending Review, reviewing capability decisions including prudent savings measures, and rebalancing to spend more on equipment. Furthermore, the delivery of the plan remains under continuous review and the Department is in a better position to deliver any necessary adjustments to a plan that is affordable at the outset.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason track miles on the UK's MRAP fleet has been reduced this year.

Jeremy Quin: In answer to the right hon. Member's question, the UK’s MRAP fleet is defined as those purchased as Urgent Operational Requirement’s for Operations. This consists of Mastiff, Ridgeback, Wolfhound (MRW), High Mobility Tactical Vehicle (Jackal and Coyote), Foxhound and Husky.  The actual track miles in 2021-2022 were higher than the actual track miles in 2020-2021 (in both cases actual was below forecast). The forecast for 2022-2023 is higher than the actual track miles in 2020-2021 notwithstanding the imminent out of service date for Husky.

LE TacCIS Programme: Costs

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is contractually obliged to incur extra costs resulting from delays to the Land Environment Tactical Communication and Information System.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with NATO officials on the timetable for delivery of the Land Environment Tactical Communication and Information System.

Jeremy Quin: The UK works closely and engages regularly with NATO on our Capability Targets. The Ministry of Defence remains able to meet its obligations to NATO. While delivery of the first element of the MORPHEUS is running behind schedule, delivery of the other projects within the Land Environment Tactical Communication and Information System programme is progressing satisfactorily against cost and time forecasts. Any changes to costs as a result of MORPHEUS delay will be determined as part of ongoing discussions.

National Cyber Force: Samlesbury

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he made the final decision on the selection of Samlesbury as the location for the headquarters of the National Cyber Force.

Mr Ben Wallace: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 18 May 2022 to Question 46.National Cyber Force UIN 46 (docx, 14.1KB)

LE TacCIS Programme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with General Dynamics Mission Systems UK on the latest timetable for delivery of the Morpheus programme.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the latest timetable for delivery of the Morpheus programme on his Department's ability to deliver a fully digitised warfighting division by 2030, as set out in Future Soldier, published on 25 November 2021.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency plans his Department has put in place in the event that Morpheus does not reach initial operating capability before Ajax enters service.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with officials in his Department on the latest timetable for delivery of the Morpheus programme.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is considering the optimum route to achieve delivery of the full MORPHEUS capability. The delivery of Morpheus is not a requirement for Ajax to achieve Full Operating CapabilityThe Department retains the ambition to deliver a fully digitised warfighting division by 2030, as set out in Future Soldier.MOD officials are in regular discussions with General Dynamics Mission Systems UK to establish a way forward.Both the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Defence Procurement are regularly updated by the Senior Responsible Owner of the Morpheus programme.

LE TacCIS Programme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date he was informed of the delays to the Morpheus programme.

Jeremy Quin: The Secretary of State for Defence received an Information Note which stated that more time would be required to complete contracted deliverables in December 2020.

Department for Work and Pensions

Child Maintenance Service

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reforming the Child Maintenance Service.

Guy Opperman: The Child maintenance Service (CMS) is delivering a transformation programme to help improve outcomes for children. The CMS recently consulted on a range of proposals to improve fairness for both parents and get more money to children. The consultation response can be found here: Government response: Child Maintenance: modernising and improving our service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Social Security Benefits: Deductions

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons deductions are made from recipients' (a) universal credit and (b) other social benefit payments; and what the total value was of those deductions by those reason categories, nationally, in each month in the last 12 months.

David Rutley: Deductions from benefit can be taken for a number of reasons, such as repayment of benefit overpayments or to cover the cost of an advance; deductions are also made to ensure claimants avoid the consequences of not paying priority debts, for example: eviction; and ensuring social obligations are met, such as child maintenance payments or court fines. We reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 30% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance enabling them to retain more of the award. These changes were implemented from October 2019 to April 2021. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties. For benefit overpayments, protocols are in place to ensure deductions are manageable and customers can contact DWP Debt Management if they are experiencing financial hardship to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on financial circumstances. We encourage anyone unable to afford the proposed rate of overpayment recovery to contact Debt Management - all notifications advise how to get in touch. We seek to do as much as we are able to support claimants through the recovery of their overpayments. Information for third party deductions in Working Age legacy benefits and Pension Credit is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The available information is provided in the attached spreadsheet. Spreadsheet 1 (xlsx, 21.8KB)

Child Maintenance Service

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to improve (a) response times to complaints and (b) customer service at the Child Maintenance Service.

Guy Opperman: DWP aim to contact customers within 15 working days to clear their complaint or agree how to investigate it if will take longer. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has made changes to the way they communicate with customers. This includes expanding the facilities offered through the online self-service and web chat, allowing parents to access their account 24 hours a day, seven days a week at a time that works for them. CMS use customer feedback from complaints to drive improvements, we have an ongoing programme of activity including both technical and behavioural learning for our caseworkers.

Child Maintenance Service: Complaints

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints her Department has received in each year since 2010 regarding (a) customer service and (b) incorrect decisions from the Child Maintenance Service; and what the average response times to those complaints has been in each of those years.

Guy Opperman: Complaints about customer service delivery are routinely published on a quarterly basis which can be viewed here: DWP complaints data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk The Department logs a complaint under benefit type along with specific categories that focus on identifying broadly where service has failed. The category ‘You got it wrong’ would capture most complaints relating to incorrect decisions from the Child Maintenance Group. The Department does not measure complaints as described in the question and to determine this request, we would need to examine each individual case, which the Department considers to be a disproportionate cost to provide. The Department aims to contact customers within 15 working days to clear their complaint or agree how to investigate it if it will take longer.

Department for Work and Pensions: Greater Manchester

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the number of jobs that will be affected by the closure of her Department's office at Manchester Chorlton Graeme House.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of whether the closure of her Department's office at Manchester Chorlton Graeme House will result in compulsory redundancies.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the (a) equality impact assessment and (b) socio-economic impact assessment on the closure of her Department's office at Manchester Chorlton Graeme House.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department expects to close her Department's office at Manchester Chorlton Graeme House.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to provide additional support for travel costs of civil servants identified for consolidation at her Department's office at Manchester Chorlton Graeme House.

Mims Davies: The changes the Department is making to estates will both improve the working environment for staff, become greener by becoming smaller, helping meet the Government’s carbon reduction target, and provide value for money for the taxpayer. As of March 2022, 405 colleagues located in Manchester Chorlton Graeme House are being asked to relocate, with their role, to Manchester Anchorage Salford Quays or Stockport Millennium House, based on where their role will be based. Each colleague will have a discussion with their line manager to assess the impact of the move on them and if they are able to relocate. The Department’s priority will be to retain, retrain and redeploy colleagues either within DWP, or within other Government Departments in the area. As a responsible employer, we will make provision for redundancies if it is necessary. However, this will be a very last resort after all efforts to redeploy have been exhausted. An overarching Equality Assessment has been completed which considers the impact on colleagues. This has been made available in the House Library. Individual site Assessments have also been prepared. The planning of an office closure includes consideration of factors including the ‘Index of Multiple Deprivation’ for each location, which considers many factors, including:· Income Deprivation· Employment Deprivation· Education, Skills and Training Deprivation· Health Deprivation and Disability· Crime· Barriers to Housing and Services· Living Environment DeprivationOn current plans, the Department expects to exit Manchester Chorlton Graeme House by September 2022. Should redeployment mean additional travel costs, colleagues may qualify for an Excess Fares payment to cover those costs. These costs would be paid for up to three years.

Department for Work and Pensions: Greater Manchester

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) age, (b) race, (c) gender, and (d) disability profile of the civil servants affected by the closure or consolidation of her Department's office at Manchester Chorlton Graeme House.

Mims Davies: The following depicts the profile of colleagues based at Manchester Chorlton Graeme House: Age – 2.4% aged 16-24, 16.1% aged 25-34, 17.1% aged 35-44, 28.9% aged 45-54, 31.1% aged 55-64, 4.4% aged 65+.Race – 22.2% of colleagues are from ethnic minoritiesGender – 45.5% male, 54.5% femaleDisability – 16.6% of colleagues have declared a disability

Kickstart Scheme

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the average length of time that a person who gets a job through the Kickstart Scheme stays in that job.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions will be monitoring and evaluating the Kickstart scheme throughout its implementation and will continue to evaluate the longer-term outcomes for Kickstart participants after they have completed their six-month Kickstart jobs. This will include an estimate of the young people that remained employed following the conclusion of the six-month Kickstart job (either with their Kickstart employer or moving into a job with a different employer), as well as the number of young people no longer in employment upon leaving a Kickstart role. We aim to publish the findings of the evaluation once complete.

Universal Credit

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the cases reviewed by the Risk Review Team have been suspended as a result of suspected (a) fraud and (b) error as of 12 May 2022.

David Rutley: DWP does not suspend benefit lightly. All the 175,826 claims suspended by the Risk Review Team to date have been as a result of suspected fraud. None have been suspended as the result of error.

Restart Scheme

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have left the Restart Scheme since its establishment by (a) region, (b) constituency, (c) age, (d) gender, (e) ethnicity, (f) disability and (g) highest level of education.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have (a) started and (b) remain in the Restart Scheme by (i) region, (ii) constituency, (iii) age, (iv) gender, (v) ethnicity, (vi) disability and (vii) highest level of education.

Mims Davies: The Restart Scheme began in July 2021, providing up to 12 months of support to help people who have been unemployed for more than nine months, into sustained employment. The tables below show the following data on the Restart Scheme for up to and including 30 April 2022: Starts - the number of individuals with a start date on provisionLeavers - the number of individuals with both a start date and an end date recorded on provision (reasons for leaving the Restart Scheme include a participant starting work, moving off Universal Credit or moving out of the Universal Credit Intensive Work Search regime)Caseload - the number of individuals with a start date recorded but without an end date recorded Data is not currently available by ethnicity, disability, and highest education level or by constituency. Table 1 – Starts, leavers, and caseload by Contract Package Area (CPA)CPA  StartsLeaversCaseload1a West Central20,8251,42519,4001b East Central18,3451,60516,7402a North East and Humberside16,5001,40515,0952b South and West Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire24,2752,09522,1803a North West15,07060014,4703b Greater Manchester14,65077013,8754a South West14,63088013,7554b South Central14,66598513,6755a Central and West London30,3501,58528,7655b South and East London19,6351,54018,0955c Home Counties28,2652,50525,7606 Wales9,5757858,790National226,78516,180210,605Table 2 – Starts, leavers, and caseload by SexSex  StartsLeaversCaseloadFemale92,5305,96586,570Male134,23510,210124,020Unknown20515Total226,78516,180210,605  Table 3 – Starts, leavers, and caseload by AgeAgeStartsLeaversCaseload18 to 2412,78066512,11525 to 49148,08010,840137,245Over 4965,4854,66560,820Unknown44515430Total226,78516,180210,605 Data Source: Provider Referrals and Payment System (PRaP) and DWP administrative datasets. A breakdown of the CPAs can be found in the following link.Restart Scheme: Contract Package Areas - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) All values rounded to nearest 5 - total numbers may not sum perfectly due to rounding. The management information above has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with Official Statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency. There are some unknown values (less than 1%) recorded in the system for both gender and age. Some are recorded as such while others are due to a mismatch between Provider Referrals, Payment System, and DWP administrative datasets. The numbers of leavers and caseload depends on accurate recording of the end date and so there maybe inaccuracy in these numbers.

Universal Credit: Harrogate

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the 38 claimants transitioned to universal credit during the Harrogate pilot had previously claimed employment and support allowance.

David Rutley: Of the 38 claimants transitioned to Universal Credit during the Harrogate pilot, 6 were in receipt of Employment Support Allowance (ESA).

Social Security Benefits

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Child Poverty Action Group's report entitled You have to take it back to the bricks: Reforming emergency support to reduce demand for food banks, published March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the validity of that report's findings; and if she will make a statement.

David Rutley: No such assessment has been made. Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.

Jobcentres: Staff

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on (a) quality of service for Work Coach clients, (b) equalities, (c) training costs, and (d) future quality of service for Work Coach clients of (ii) rising unemployment and (b) staff in her Department who were hired on fixed term contracts as a result of covid-19 pandemic-related increases in social security claim rates are not transferred onto permanent contracts.

Mims Davies: The department monitors and manages its workforce planning by regularly reviewing and monitoring the supply of resources against demand for all portfolios of service delivery and the service provided by Work Coaches is measured by understanding caseloads and claimants within the intensive work search group that our Work Coaches work with to support movement into work. Our Jobcentre teams are committed to delivering a quality service to ensure all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstances. We operate a service delivery framework which sets out the service expectations for our Jobcentre network and the requirements for how they deliver their services. It provides information on why these expectations are set, and ways that Jobcentre leaders and Work Coaches should implement the expectations. Work Coaches undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality, efficient service to all claimants. They receive on-going learning in their roles and have access to guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals. Jobcentre Team Leaders are responsible for monitoring and assuring the quality of services provided to individual claimants through a combination of observation of interviews, feedback, coaching and appraisal. Where we have made offers of permanence to our fixed term colleagues, this has reflected merit, location and taking into account demand for future services across the Department in relation to the number of roles available. Where we were unable to make an offer at this time, colleagues have been placed on a reserve list and we will continue to consider where we may be able to make any further permanence offers, where further opportunities become available. We are also continuing to provide colleagues with a comprehensive career planning offer and ongoing support.

Universal Credit

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by what method are universal credits claimants affected by two wages in one assessment period notified; and whether this notification is given prior to reductions in entitlement being applied.

David Rutley: The Universal Credit service will identify irregular earnings i.e. two earnings amounts in one assessment period, with corrective action then taken by the Universal Credit Case Manager. The claimant is notified once the action is undertaken and the statement is updated with new information.

Poverty: Mental Health

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to understand the relationship between poverty and mental health.

David Rutley: The link between poverty and mental health is well-established in academic research literature and the Department hasn’t specifically assessed or commissioned further research on this issue. There is clear evidence about the important role that work can play in lifting people out of poverty and in improving health and wellbeing for people with health conditions, including mental health. That is why we have undertaken a range of activities to understand how best to support people with mental health conditions find and retain work, for example our Employment Advisors in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies initiative.

Universal Credit

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average response time for online journal responses was in the latest period for which data is available by number of days, hours and minutes.

David Rutley: Universal Credit is a 24/7 digital service that allows claimants to manage their own data and account online. Claimants can check their Universal Credit benefit payments, notify us of changes and record notes on the online journal facility. The journal is primarily used to support work search activity and not every entry requires a response.The Case Manager or Work Coach receives a notification in real time when a claimant submits an entry. Journal entries are monitored daily as part of our case management approach.

Universal Credit

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the guidance used by her Department's Risk Review Team to determine which cases to review.

David Rutley: The methods used to identify cases reviewed by the Risk Review Team are sensitive and, as such, we are not able to provide the mechanics of how they are identified. Putting such methods or the guidance in the public domain, would risk undermining the ability of DWP to detect and counter fraudulent threats.

Universal Credit

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claims have been suspended by her Department's Risk Review Team since January 2022.

David Rutley: DWP does not suspend benefit payment lightly and our Risk Review Team only do so in cases where intelligence indicates a high risk of fraud. I can confirm that 1532 Universal Credit claims have being suspended as a result of Risk Review Team activity since January 2022.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much revenue the spare room subsidy has accrued since its introduction.

David Rutley: The RSRS is not a revenue but a reduction in benefits to encourage movement of claimants over-occupying a property into a property of a suitable size.Between its introduction in April 2013 and March 2021, reductions in Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Housing Element from the RSRS totalled £2.8 billion.

Poverty: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle child poverty in the context of the rising cost of living.

David Rutley: This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works.Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million, and the new 'Way to Work’ campaign is a national drive to get half a million people who are out of work into jobs by the end of June. The government has taken action to support and help families with the cost of living worth over £22 billion in 2022-23. We announced a £9.1 billion energy bill rebate package, worth up to £350 each for around 28 million households and are giving 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 a year through our cut to the Universal Credit taper and increase to work allowances. Also, from July 2022, the government are raising the National Insurance threshold to £12,570. We are also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion. In England, £421 million will be provided to extend the existing Household Support Fund, at least a third of the extension funding (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.To support low income families further, we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. We are also investing over £200m a year to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities. The Holiday Activity and Food programme benefitted over 600,000 children last summer.

Social Security Benefits: Deductions

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that individuals who face deductions from social security payments can afford them.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a maximum duration for payment of debt through deductions to social security before the debt is written off.

David Rutley: The Secretary of State has an obligation to protect public funds and to ensure that, wherever possible, benefit overpayments are recovered. However, we recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred benefit debt and our over-arching policy is that all repayment plans should be affordable and sustainable. Regulations protect claimants from excessive deductions, which could lead to financial difficulty and our deductions follow a strict priority order, which ensure claimants avoid the consequences of not paying third party debts whilst also ensuring social obligations are met. Universal Credit is subject to a deduction cap of 25% of the standard allowance. We encourage anyone unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment to contact Debt Management so that we can consider temporarily lowering the rate. We remain committed to Her Majesty’s Treasury’s Beathing Space policy, which provides those with problem debt the right to legal protections from creditor action for a period of 60 days to enable them to receive debt advice and enter into an appropriate debt solution. Other than recovery by Civil Action in the courts, there are no time limits for recovery of a benefit debt. While the policy is to consider abandoning some debts based on the cost effectiveness of pursuing recovery, the legal right to recover does not expire in England and Wales, and DWP retains the right to recover the debt where it is cost effective to do so.

Welfare Tax Credits: Cynon Valley

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of legacy benefits in Cynon Valley constituency are holders of historical tax credit overpayments.

David Rutley: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for people in York to be transferred from legacy benefits to universal credit.

David Rutley: The Department is currently focussed on the discovery phase of managed migration starting with 250 claimants in Bolton and Medway. We are committed to ensuring the final phase of Universal Credit is rolled out safely and is responsibly delivered in York and all remaining locations across Great Britain by the end of 2024.

Household Support Fund

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will issue guidance to local authorities to prioritise families who rely on non-price capped fuel for the Household Support Fund.

David Rutley: The Household Support Fund extension is part of £22 billion we are providing in 2022-23 to help ease cost of living pressures. The additional £500 million we are providing from April to help households with the cost of essentials brings the total funding for this support to£1 billion. In England, £421 million will be provided to extend the existing Household Support Fund from 1 April to 30 September inclusive and will continue to help people who are struggling to afford energy and water bills, food, and other essentials. Local Authorities have been issued with the fund guidance and the accompanying grant determination for the extended funding. We know energy bills may be of particular concern to low income households and so the guidance encourages Local Authorities to focus on supporting households with the cost of energy, and to focus all support on those in most need. Within the parameters set by the guidance, it is for Local Authorities, using their local ties and knowledge, to design local schemes that best meet the needs of local people.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dog Fighting

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when sections of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 relating to videoing dog fighting will come into force in England.

Jo Churchill: The Government abhors animal fighting and tough penalties apply to those involved. Last year, we introduced the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 which implements our manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty. The Act’s new maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine applies to animal cruelty offences, including involvement in an animal fight. Under the current sentencing guidelines the ‘use of technology to publicise or promote cruelty’ is listed as an aggravating factor for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Section 127(1) of the Communications Act 2003 also makes it an offence to send material over a public electronic communications network which is grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing. We are keeping under review whether in addition to commence section 8(3) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 relating specifically to the filming of animal fights.

Peat

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's timetable is for responding to the Ending the retail sale of peat in horticulture in England and Wales consultation.

Rebecca Pow: The consultation closed on 18 March 2022 and as is standard practice, the Government aims to respond to all consultations within 12 weeks, as set out in Cabinet Office guidance.

Marine Protected Areas: Fishing Vessels

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what timeline the Government has agreed for ensuring that all offshore Marine Protected Areas designated for seabed features are fully protected from bottom trawling.

Rebecca Pow: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. We are aiming to have all Marine Protected Area seabed features in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024. Byelaws for the first four sites were announced in April and a call for evidence relating to the next thirteen sites was launched on 14 May. This is further supported by the legally binding target under the Environment Act that we are proposing to set for marine protected areas.

Apples

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to take steps to increase the proportion of British apples grown commercially in England and Wales.

Victoria Prentis: We have a proud tradition of apple production in this country and our unique climate has given our apples an enviable reputation for quality. Apple orchards are an iconic feature of our landscape. While commercial decisions ultimately rest with businesses, an innovative, productive and competitive agricultural sector is one of the Government’s key priorities. With its highly responsive and versatile growers, our horticulture sector has a potential to grow, taking advantage of the demand for top-quality, locally grown fresh fruit. We are working with the sector on a forward-thinking approach, for example looking at increased use of innovation to help maximise crop growth and increase productivity. We have also taken a number of steps to support businesses in the horticulture sector. For example, in November 2021, Defra launched the Farming Investment Fund , which provides grants to farmers and horticultural growers in England so that they can invest in the equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help improve their businesses while enhancing the environment. As agricultural policy is devolved, the information provided applies to England only.

Farmers: Recruitment

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support new entrants into farming.

Victoria Prentis: Attracting new talent into food and farming is vital for a sustainable and productive agriculture sector. As set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 – 2024, this Government will provide funding to create lasting opportunities for new entrants to access land, infrastructure and support to establish successful and innovative businesses. The new entrant scheme is being developed through a co-design process with stakeholders, including representatives of local authorities with council farm estates, new entrants, providers of innovation support, cooperative and community land organisations and private landowners. In January 2022 the Secretary of State announced plans for pilot incubators to support new entrants to trial some of the solutions emerging from the co-design process. The details of these pilots are being worked up, with the aim to launch the pilot scheme this year.

Fisheries: Fuels

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing a package of support to the UK fishing industry to help deal with the rising cost of fuel.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of rising fuel costs on (a) the UK fishing industry and (b) coastal communities.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Ministers in (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Department for Transport on providing support to the UK fishing industry and coastal communities in respect of the rising cost of fuel.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with representative bodies of the UK fishing industry on the impact of the rising cost of fuel on (a) fishing fleets and (b) coastal communities.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with representative bodies of the UK fishing industry on the impact of the rising cost of fuel on fishing fleets and coastal communities.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Department for Transport on providing support to the UK fishing industry and coastal communities regarding the rising cost of fuel.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of the rising fuel costs on the UK fishing industry and coastal communities.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a package of support for the UK fishing industry to help manage the rising cost of fuel.

Victoria Prentis: The increasing cost of fuel is affecting a wide range of sectors including the fishing industry. Our primary focus is on analysing how the UK fleet is being affected by fuel and fish prices. Defra Ministers and officials are working with colleagues across government, along with a wide range of stakeholders, and are closely monitoring the situation. The Government has shown long term commitment to the sector and will continue to do so in the future. As part of this long term commitment we are not planning to repurpose funds to mitigate the impacts of high fuel prices. We consider this is a cross cutting issue, and so are liaising with colleagues across government to determine the longer-term impacts and any mitigating actions. Defra will continue to support the sector through the £100 million UK Seafood Fund, which as one of its main objectives seeks to increase the sustainability of the sector, including through investing in the transition to renewable energy. Defra is also making £32.7 million in annual funding available across all four nations of the UK which last year enabled grant schemes to be opened in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, benefiting hundreds of UK businesses. The grant scheme for England, the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme, delivers investment to safeguard the long-term sustainability, resilience and prosperity of the seafood sector. In recognition of the challenges in the maritime sector, including the fishing industry, in the 2022 Spring Budget the Chancellor overturned the 2020 announcement to remove the red diesel entitlement for commercial boat operators, meaning the industry can continue to use red diesel, in addition to the Marine Voyages Relief, which gives 100% relief on fuel duty costs.

Agriculture: Regulation

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that farmers are (a) consulted on and (b) included in the decision-making process on changes to regulatory requirements on plant protection products.

Victoria Prentis: Defra regularly engages with farming stakeholders including representative organisations, such as the National Farmers Union and Nature Friendly Farming Network, as well as individual farmers and growers. In 2021, the Government consulted on the draft National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides (NAP) which sets out the ambition to further minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment. We received 38,500 responses to this consultation. This included responses from a range of farming stakeholders. We are planning further engagement with a wide range of key stakeholders, including those from the farming sector, as we prepare to finalise the NAP and in the development of future environmental land management schemes, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Food Supply

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the UK's food supply chain.

Victoria Prentis: Our food import dependency on the Eastern Europe region is very low. We do not expect any significant direct impact on overall UK food supply as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.We are, however, working closely with the food and feed industry to understand the impacts of the situation in Ukraine on sunflower seed, oil or sunseed meal supplies, while the Food Standards Agency has informed consumers that refined rapeseed oil, palm oil, coconut oil and soyabean oil may start to replace sunflower oil in some products.We speak regularly with food industry figures, who remain confident in the food supply chain. We continue to keep the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments. We have also increased our engagement with industry to supplement our analysis with real time intelligence.

Food: UK Trade with EU

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on preparations for the implementation of proposed sanitary and phytosanitary checks on food imports from the EU as of 10 May 2022.

Victoria Prentis: Over the last two years Defra has worked with stakeholders and delivery partners to develop the capability to deliver new SPS border controls on goods arriving in England from the EU. The figures below cover IT delivery, staffing costs and infrastructure.  PQ 275/276Implementation PreparationsActivity21/2222/23Total Digital Delivery£10.77m£0.00m£10.77mIncludes IPAFFS and proportion of overheadsImports Policy£11.17m£0.15m£11.32mIncludes Plants and AnimalsPHA Fund£17.56m£2.50m£20.06m  £39.50m£2.65m£42.15mIncludes funds for PHA staff to end of April 2022 PQ 277/783BCP Spend to dateActivity21/2222/23Total Infrastructure£30.98m£0.37m£31.35mIncludes Sevington and Dover construction only, which are DEFRA funded.

Food: UK Trade with EU

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the Government's expenditure on preparations for implementing proposed sanitary and phytosanitary checks on food imports from the EU as of 10 May 2022.

Victoria Prentis: Over the last two years Defra has worked with stakeholders and delivery partners to develop the capability to deliver new SPS border controls on goods arriving in England from the EU. The figures below cover IT delivery, staffing costs and infrastructure.   PQ 275/276Implementation PreparationsActivity21/2222/23Total Digital Delivery£10.77m£0.00m£10.77mIncludes IPAFFS and proportion of overheadsImports Policy£11.17m£0.15m£11.32mIncludes Plants and AnimalsPHA Fund£17.56m£2.50m£20.06m  £39.50m£2.65m£42.15mIncludes funds for PHA staff to end of April 2022 PQ277/783BCP Spend to dateActivity21/2222/23Total Infrastructure£30.98m£0.37m£31.35mIncludes Sevington and Dover construction only, which are DEFRA funded.

Home Office

Nitrous Oxide: Misuse

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the recreational use of nitrous oxide by young people.

Kit Malthouse: The Government takes the supply of substances for their psychoactive effect seriously. There are legitimate uses for nitrous oxide, such as in medicine, dentistry and as a propellant for whipped cream canisters, but those who supply nitrous oxide who know, or who are reckless as to whether, it will be used for its psychoactive effect may be subject to a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.The Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced powers, such as Public Space Protection Orders, which the police and local councils can use to prevent people from taking intoxicating substances, including psychoactive substances such as nitrous oxide, in specified areas.On 3 September, the Government asked the independent statutory advisory body, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, to provide an updated assessment of the harms of nitrous oxide, including whether it should be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The ACMD is independent of Government and provides a broad range of recommendations, including advice on legislative changes. The Government will consider the ACMD’s advice carefully before deciding how to proceed.

Police: Standards

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she (a) is taking and (b) is able to take to help ensure equality in the dispensation of justice across different police services in England.

Kit Malthouse: The Code of Ethics requires all police officers to take active steps to oppose discrimination and make their decisions free from prejudice. This principle is at the heart of police practice. The Code of Ethics was published in 2014 by the College of Policing, who are responsible for setting and maintaining training standards within policing.In January 2022, The College published its scope for reviewing the existing Code of Ethics. This review will help provide guidance to forces, to aid the implementation of ethical decision making at all levels and support the principle of candour by all working for the police. The full scope of the review is available here: Scope for the Code of Ethics review published | College of Policing”.The College of Policing also provides foundation training for those entering the police service, which includes substantial coverage of police ethics and self-understanding. Their initial training covers hate crimes, ethics and equalities, and policing without bias. Police forces also provide local training and development at several different levels ranging from initial entry, leadership and ongoing development to reinforce their organisational values.

Passports: Standards

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for passport applications through (a) fast-tracking regular applications, (b) minimising application review times and (c) processing refunds; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing passport applications to be cancelled online.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Ukraine

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to remove the barriers that prevent Ukrainian refugees from working in the hospitality and care sectors if they wish to do so.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Ukraine

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to speed up the process of Ukrainian visa applications in circumstances where visas are issued for all but one member of a family, preventing them all from travelling.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Passport Office: Standards

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the backlog of applications in HM Passport Office.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Passports: Applications

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of call-backs take place within the specified 48 hour period for those who apply to upgrade their passport applications.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Passports: Applications

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Passport Office is creating additional appointment slots for Fast Track passport applications in response to increased demand.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Passports: Applications

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of appointments available for people applying for a passport using the (a) online premium service and (b) one week fast track service; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Passports: Applications

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications processed by her Department missed the 10-week processing target since 1 January 2022; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Passports: Applications

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of passport applications have been processed within HM Passport Office's own service standard times in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Passports: Applications

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of live passport applications currently awaiting approval by HM Passport Office.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will assist with obtaining a response from the Director General for UKVI to a letter dated 25 March 2022 from the hon Member for West Lancashire reference ZA59295 regarding an asylum claim.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Heathrow Airport: Immigration Controls

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help (a) reduce the average time taken to process passenger arrivals at Heathrow Airport and (b) tackle shortages of aviation staff.

Damian Hinds: Border Force is committed to ensuring passengers wait times are kept to a minimum, however this must be balanced with our duty to Border Security, checking 100% of passports and making sure that anyone or anything that might cause harm to the UK is correctly dealt with.Resource and staffing requirements at every port are continually reviewed by Border Force who work closely with port operators to ensure resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required. Despite Easter being one of the highest periods of inbound travel from the past two years, Border Force were able to successfully deliver a secure and effective border control with little to no disruption to passengers at Heathrow and all other major ports in the UK.Border Force also received praise from Heathrow Airport Limited on its operational posture over the Easter period allowing passengers to enjoy a relatively hassle yet secure entry into the United Kingdom.However, Border Force has already begun planning extensively for the Summer period and will not hesitate to deploy staff to the ports where they are most needed including to boost resilience, including Heathrow.Which Border Force does not recruit aviation staff, we are working closely with all UK ports and airports to ensure passengers have the smoothest possible journey.

Police: Finance

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to review the police allocation formula.

Kit Malthouse: The Police Funding Formula Review is currently in progress, with ministers having confirmed their intention to introduce a new formula before the end of this Parliament.The technical phase of the Review, which will deliver proposals for new funding arrangements, is underway, and a public consultation will take place before any new funding arrangements are implemented.

Catalytic Converters: Theft

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of gathering data centrally on the (a) annual number of catalytic converter thefts and (b) number of arrests and charges for theft of catalytic converters.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with the National Vehicle Crime Working Group on catalytic converter thefts.

Kit Malthouse: Opal, the police intelligence unit on serious organised acquisitive crime, monitors the numbers of catalytic converter thefts and shares data with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group. In addition, the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership (NICRP) is collating intelligence to track these thefts, alert members to trends, and implement crime prevention measures.The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of theft offences, and arrests and charges for theft. However, this data is collected at offence group level only and cannot be broken down further to identify thefts of catalytic converters.We are continuing to work closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group to tackle vehicle-related thefts. The British Transport Police and the NICRP have co-ordinated a number of multi-agency national weeks of action to tackle theft of scrap metal and catalytic converters. Three weeks of action resulted in 92 arrests, over 2,000 site visits, over 1,000 stolen catalytic converters recovered, and the catalytic converters of over 3,000 vehicles were forensically marked. This has helped to promote awareness, with over 1,000 officers trained in enforcement powers to deal with scrap metal dealers.

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2021 to Question 172093 on Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, what further progress she has made in her discussions with the Department for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of amending the Misuse of Drugs Act to allow paramedic advanced practitioners working in hospital settings to prescribe medication they can administer in the community.

Kit Malthouse: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs provided advice to Ministers on the prescribing and administration of specified controlled drugs by paramedics in October 2019.As set out in the response to Question 172093, the Home Office is working with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to consider the advice. The Government intends to respond publicly to the ACMD in the near future.

Treasury

Government Departments: Fraud

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Oral Evidence taken by the Treasury Select Committee on 27 April 2022 on HM Treasury’s role in combating fraud, for what reason his Department does not have a global target for reducing public sector fraud across Government.

Mr Simon Clarke: Fraud against the public sector is combatted by individual public bodies, some of whom have targets, and some who do not. HM Treasury and the soon to be launched Public Sector Fraud Authority will be working with public bodies to increasingly use data to have a greater impact on public sector fraud. The government will be transparent in the progress it makes.

Married People: Tax Allowances

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the number of married couples eligible to receive the Marriage Allowance.

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many couples claiming the Marriage Allowance are claiming retrospectively for (a) two years (b) three years and (c) four years.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested is not readily available to HMRC and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. HMRC estimated around 4.2 million non-taxpayer/basic-rate taxpayer married couples, and civil partnerships, are eligible to receive the Marriage Allowance.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing child-related benefits.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is committed to managing the public finances in a disciplined and responsible way by targeting support where it is most needed. The Government reviews the level of child-related benefits, alongside other benefits, annually. In April 2022, the Government increased Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance in line with the Consumer Prices Index (3.1 per cent) for the third consecutive year. The Government also increased the child elements of Universal Credit by £7.50, to £290.00 and £244.58 per month respectively, and the maximum annual rate of the child element of child tax credit by £90, from £2845 to £2935. The Government believes that the best way to support people out of poverty is to help them get into work. A child growing up in a home where all the adults work is less likely to be in poverty than a child growing up in a home where nobody works. That is why the Government is focused on supporting people into work through the multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs.

Energy: Housing

Siobhan Baillie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has published a full list of products and services that qualify for the VAT reduction to energy saving materials, announced in the Spring Statement.

Lucy Frazer: A full list of energy-saving materials that, when installed in residential accommodation, qualify for the VAT reduction announced at Spring Statement 2022 has been published in section 2.10 of Energy-Saving Materials and Heating Equipment (VAT Notice 708/6), which is available on GOV.UK.

Productivity: Health

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the correlation between poor health and productivity.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government closely monitors a wide range of health and labour market statistics and their potential impact on UK productivity.

Public Sector: Cost Effectiveness

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure public sector bodies are minimising wasteful spending.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government is taking action to tackle waste and inefficiency across the public sector through a comprehensive efficiency agenda overseen by a Chancellor chaired Cabinet Committee on Efficiency and Value for Money. The Government has launched a new programme of Public Body Reviews. Reviews will examine the accountability, efficiency, efficacy and governance of bodies. Reviews will be asked to identify more than 5% recurring efficiencies in resource budgets and are expected to find at least £800m in savings.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Holiday Accommodation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold a consultation on the potential licensing of short-term holiday let properties.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she will take to help ensure local planning authorities can identify when a residential property has undergone a change of use to become a short term holiday let property.

Nigel Huddleston: The Tourism Recovery Plan, published in June 2021 committed to considering a Tourism Accommodation Registration Scheme in England.To better understand the issues faced by both communities and businesses, we intend to launch a call for evidence seeking views on the range of issues that arise from the increase in short term and holiday letting. I want to understand the market today, as well as the benefits and challenges of the increase in short-term and holiday letting we have seen in England in recent years.The broad C3 ‘dwellinghouse’ use class does not distinguish between the type of occupant or tenure. It is for local planning authorities to consider individual cases, as a matter of fact and degree, as to whether there has been a material change of use requiring planning permission.

Swimming Pools

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making provision of swimming pools a statutory requirement for local authorities.

Nigel Huddleston: We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to indoor and outdoor pools and that swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the government continues to encourage Local Authorities to invest in swimming facilities.The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities, such as leisure and cultural services. Swimming and leisure services are not currently statutory requirements for local authorities, however we continue to work with partners to consider whether this should continue to be the case.Sport England has invested £25,027,478 in swimming and diving projects since January 2017, which includes £15,724,500 to Swim England. This is in addition to the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund which supported the reopening of local authority swimming pools throughout the country after the pandemic, with 1,176 separate pools supported across 701 sites.

Holiday Accommodation: Registration

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her timetable is for consulting on the introduction of a tourist accommodation registration scheme.

Nigel Huddleston: The Tourism Recovery Plan, published in June 2021, included a commitment to consult on a Tourism Accommodation Registration Scheme in England.Ahead of this, however, the government intends to launch a call for evidence that will seek views on a range of issues that arise from the increase in short term and holiday letting.First, I want to gather information that will improve the government’s understanding of the benefits and challenges of the increase in short-term and holiday letting we have seen in England in recent years. Second, I want to gather initial views on what would and would not constitute a proportionate response to addressing some of the challenges.This evidence will help us determine whether there are options the government should pursue through a consultation.

House of Commons Commission

Opening of Parliament: Costs

Hywel Williams: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost to the House administration has been in (a) preparing and conducting the State Opening of Parliament and (b) providing officials with ceremonial garments for the State Opening of Parliament in each of the last five years.

Sir Charles Walker: The main costs incurred for State Opening relate to maintenance works to support areas such as broadcasting and digital, as well as the installation works for the Royal Gallery, Robing Room, House of Lords Chamber and other areas. Costs are incurred for labour, both directly employed and specialist contractors, as well as transportation for items held in storage off site and the works required to the security barriers around St Stephens entrance.Costs are split between the House of Commons, who pay 60%, and the House of Lords, who pay 40%. The table shows the House of Commons share for the last five years. Data for May 2022 is not yet available. In 2018 and 2020 there was no State Opening, while there were two in 2019.  £, House of Commons share20172018201920202021Staff salaries25,216033,516018,740Other staff costs224000309Direct works125,5454,374320,090-594107,628Other10,34111,050010,62210,710Total (House of Commons)161,32615,424353,60610,028137,387Other minor identifiable costs for the House of Commons not related to maintenance for State Opening in 2022 are shown in the table below.  Security pass provision (Commons share of 70%): £2,500British Sign Language provision and audio description: £1,400Ceremonial dress is purchased for roles in the House of Commons when needed during the year or when postholders change. Data on ceremonial uniform costs cannot be separated from other uniform spending. Chamber related teams, including Clerks, the Speaker and their office, the Serjeant and their team of doorkeepers, require uniform supplies throughout the year. Total uniform expenditure for these functions over the last five years is shown below. Most of this spend relates to uniform for day to day use during the normal business of the House as well as supporting events and work outside the Chamber.   2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/22Uniform expenditure (Clerks, Speaker team, Serjeant team)£17,824£13,403£25,607£25,197£23,285 This answer does not represent the full cost of State Opening, or costs directly incurred by the House of Lords. Costs will also have been incurred by other bodies, which may include Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Household.

Prime Minister

Russia: Ukraine

Jim Shannon: To ask the Prime Minister, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) French and (b) German counterpart on how to further assist Ukraine.

Boris Johnson: In the run up to and during this conflict, I have spoken regularly with President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, reaffirming in each conversation the united condemnation of Putin’s barbaric actions and the importance of our nations continuing to work closely together. I have also discussed support for Ukraine on a call with G7 and European Leaders on 8 May ahead of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Germany next month.

Prime Minister: World Economic Forum

Jon Trickett: To ask the Prime Minister, whether he has participated in any events organised by the World Economic Forum in the last year.

Boris Johnson: No.

Cultural Heritage: West Midlands

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to celebrate Black Country Day on 14 July 2022.

Boris Johnson: As a former resident of Bilston, I am proud of the enormous contribution that the Black Country has made and continues to make to the UK. I encourage everyone to join in as we celebrate the region's industrial heritage, history and culture on Black Country Day.